


Picket Fences

by Lampshadez



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-09
Updated: 2017-07-09
Packaged: 2018-11-29 18:54:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11446980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lampshadez/pseuds/Lampshadez
Summary: So much stuff went down in 2x05, this deals with like maybe half of it.  Lots of Waverly and Wynonna, Waverly/Nicole, and Wynonna and Nicole dealing with their myriad issues and having important discussions.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> There's some curse words in this one, most are canon-typical but there are some "fucks" in here.

“Hey,” Waverly greeted as Nicole walked into the kitchen.

“Hey,” Nicole said.  She walked up to Waverly and kissed her.  “Have you been at this for long?”

“Nope, not really,” Waverly said.  “You were in the shower when I got in, so, good looks on that key, babe.  I left it on the table by the door.”

“Why don’t you hang onto it?”

“To your key?”  Waverly was paying a bit more attention to her cooking than to Nicole.

“I mean, why not?” Nicole said.  She was still standing next to Waverly, she had her hand on her back.  “You spend a lot of nights here, anyway.  And, you leave things,” she laughed.  “It might be helpful to be able to pick your stuff up whenever you need it.”

“You want me to move my things out?”

“No!” Nicole said.  “No.  You can totally leave things here.  I mean, like, you left your phone charger here the other day and you had to wait all day for me to get off work so you could pick it up.”

“Baby, I don’t mind waiting.”

“I know,” Nicole said.  “I just thought you might like a key.”

Waverly shrugged.  “I’m good.  No need to go through all the trouble.”  She turned and kissed Nicole’s cheek.  “Thanks, though.”

“Yeah, no problem,” Nicole said.  She knew it could’ve gone either way and she knew that she could press it more if she wanted to but, despite the pang in her chest, she left it alone.

“Hey, listen, I do need to talk to you, though,” Waverly said.

“You do?”

Waverly nodded.  “I think, with everything that’s been going on lately and everything that’s happened, it might be good to…you know…”

“Talk.”

“Yeah,” Waverly said.

“I mean, might as well dive in, right?” Nicole said.

Waverly laughed nervously.  “Yeah, might as well.  So, Mikshun-.”

“Waverly, are you pregnant?”

“What?”  She turned and Nicole looked at her and Waverly could tell she was serious.  “Why would you ask me that?”

“I saw what you were googling on your phone last night,” Nicole said.  “And, you’re upset-.”

“I’m not upset.”

“And you weren’t drinking last night and…I don’t know.  You were possessed for seven weeks, Wave.”

“And the only person I had sex with was you.”

“I know,” Nicole said.  She swallowed hard.  “But we were only together for, like, a couple weeks before then, and before that there was…”

“Champ.”

“Look, I get it,” Nicole forced herself to say, though it was true.  “And I’m here.  Do what you want and we can figure it out-.”

“You think I’m pregnant with Champ Hardy’s baby.”

“God damn is that shitty to hear out loud,” Nicole said before she could stop herself, and mostly to herself anyway.  She looked at Waverly again and tried again.  “I know it’s been a while but you were possessed, you had other things going on.  And, it’s…okay.  We can, we should talk about it.”

“I’m not pregnant.”

“Waverly-.”

“I didn’t drink yesterday because I had just come off from being possessed and I was exhausted.  I’m in a weird mood because…everything that’s happened.”

“Waverly, I know you bought a test,” Nicole said.  “My friend Aly saw you and she told me and I just figured you were buying it for someone else or something but…”

“I was,” Waverly said quickly.   “It was for Wynonna.”

She hadn’t meant to say all that.  She turned back to the stove and turned it off.  She had a feeling dinner was going to be delayed.

Nicole’s eyebrow popped up.  She laughed, she actually laughed.  “Sure, Wave.  Okay.  Look, I know you’ve been through some shit lately but please don’t lie to me.”

“I’m not lying,” Waverly said.  Nicole finally saw that she was serious and Waverly saw her face change.  She recognized it, she knew what Nicole was feeling, it probably wasn’t that far off from what Waverly felt, sitting on the outside of the bathroom door the night before.  “I’m the only person who knows.  She hasn’t even seen a doctor yet, I’m taking her tomorrow.”

“Oh, shit,” Nicole said.  “So, she’s not sure?  She might not be?”

“No, she is,” Waverly said.  She sighed.  “She definitely is.”

“Holy shit,” Nicole said, drawing out the words.

“I know.”

“Holy…shit.”

“Nicole, I know.”

“I’m sorry I accused you,” Nicole said.  “I don’t know if accused is the right word, but…”

“It’s okay.”

“Is Wynonna okay?  How is she?”

“She’s freaking out,” Waverly said.  “I mean, she’s Wynonna, she’s trying to seem like she’s not, but she is.  Hell, I am.  This is big, no matter what she decides.”

Nicole nodded in agreement. 

Waverly clenched and unclenched her jaw.  “Hey, I know we kind of talked about maybe going away for a while or something, but I really want to stick around right now.”

“I get it,” Nicole nodded.  “Raincheck.”

Waverly looked appreciative.  “I mean, she hasn’t decided anything yet but I promised her she wouldn’t be alone.”

“Of course,” Nicole said.  “She’ll have us.”

Waverly grinned.  “You know, Dolls owes us a homestead renovation anyway.”  She saw Nicole’s confused face.  “It’s a long story.  But, I don’t know.  If we’re fixing up the place anyway and Wynonna…you know, we end up needing another room, it could work out.”

“You think she’s going to keep it?”

Waverly exhaled deeply.  “I think she wants to.  I don’t think she knows how much she wants to, but, yeah.”

“Why do you think that?”

Waverly sighed again.  “Long story.”

“Willa’s old room might be nice,” Nicole tried.  “For a baby, I mean.  It’s already redone, might save time.”

“Then where would I sleep?” Waverly laughed.

“Right,” Nicole said.  “I meant, your old room.”

Waverly shrugged.  “We have time.  Whatever Wynonna wants to do, we’ll figure it out.”

“What’s next then, huh?” Nicole asked, grinning a bit.  “A white picket fence?”

Waverly frowned.  “Oh, no.  Veto.”

“Right,” Nicole said.  “So you’re going to stick around for a while, then, if she keeps it.”

Waverly shrugged.  “I think so, yeah.  She needs me”

“She asked you to stay there?”

“She didn’t have to,” Waverly said.  She saw Nicole’s face.  “I’m stuck here for Black Badge anyway.  And even so, I…I want to be here for her.  For once.”

Nicole had an expression on her face that Waverly wished she hadn’t seen.  Nicole thought Waverly was making a mistake.  She thought Waverly was wrong.

**-WE-**

Waverly spent the night at the homestead.  After the talk about Wynonna, she and Nicole actually had a pretty good conversation about things Waverly had done when she was possessed.  Nicole filled in some blanks for Waverly, which was what she needed.

The next morning, Waverly and Nicole were in the break room.  Wynonna walked in.

“Morning, lovebirds,” Wynonna said, heading to the fridge.

“Morning,” Waverly offered.

“Good morning,” Nicole said.

Wynonna sighed, standing up from the fridge.  “Isn’t it the sheriff’s department’s job to keep the fridge stocked?  How do we not have milk?”

Nicole shrugged.  “There are other deputies, Wynonna.”

Waverly looked at her weird.  She knew Wynonna and Nicole could be short with each other, but neither of them usually dove right into it.

“All trained by Nedley,” Wynonna said.  “So, well-versed in the art of sitting around.”

Waverly laughed a bit, but Nicole didn’t.

“Do either of you want coffee?”

“I’m good,” Nicole said.

“I’ll take one,” Waverly said.

Wynonna poured them out from the pot on the counter.  “Are you two up to anything tonight?”

“Not particularly,” Waverly said.  “Why?  Do you want to do something?”

Nicole rolled her eyes but neither of the Earp’s noticed.

“No,” Wynonna shrugged.  “Just making conversation.  I seem to have a habit of walking in on you two making out so I figure if I keep you talking, that can’t happen.”

Waverly laughed.  “Yeah, not at work,” she said, putting her hand on Nicole’s leg.  Nicole cocked an eyebrow at her.  “Not in public places at work.”

“Well, that’s more information than I needed,” Wynonna said, turning to face them.  She turned a bit too fast and when she went to put Waverly’s mug on the table, she caught the edge of the table and it spilled on Nicole.

“Shit!” Nicole exclaimed, standing.

“I’m sorry, it was an accident, I swear,” Wynonna said, already grabbing napkins.

“Yeah, you seem to know something about those.”

Wynonna thought that was weird but ignored it, feeling bad about spilling on Nicole.  Waverly, however, looked at Nicole like she didn’t want to think Nicole was going where she thought he was going.

“Look, my bad, okay?” Wynonna said.  “I should’ve been more careful.”

“It seems very late for that, eh?”

“Nicole!” Waverly scolded.

Wynonna looked at her.  “Excuse me?”

Nicole regretted it as soon as she said it, but not before then.  “Wait…No…”

“Do you have something to say, Nicole?”

Nicole shook her head.  “No, I don’t.  I’m sorry.”

“No, if you want to say something, say it,” Wynonna said.  “I mean, clearly you’ve got some sort of an opinion here.”

“I don’t.”

“Bullshit.”  Wynonna looked one last time at Nicole, then shot a disappointed, hurt glare at Waverly and then stormed out.

“Wynonna,” Nicole tried, but it was too late.

“Wynonna!” Waverly tried, too, but was met with a slamming door.

Waverly looked at Nicole with such disappointment and anger and disbelief.  “What the hell was that?”

“Waverly…”

Before Nicole could even attempt to explain, Waverly walked out, letting the door slam behind her, too.

**-WE-**

“Wynonna, I’m sorry,” Waverly said, finding her in Black Badge.  Dolls was out, trying to figure out what he could about what happened to the rest of Black Badge. 

Wynonna didn’t even look up at her, but Jeremy did.  Waverly ignored him.

“For what?”

“Wynonna-.”

“Waverly, drop it,” Wynonna said.  “Alright?  It’s not like we can blame her for not being thrilled.”

“She shouldn’t talk to you like that.”

Wynonna gave her a look like she thought it was maybe an overdue conclusion.

“And I shouldn’t have told her,” Waverly said.

Wynonna looked up at that.  She looked over at Jeremy, who was trying very hard to look like he wasn’t listening.

“I’ve got some work to do, but I’ll see you at noon?”

“Of course.”

**-WE-**

“You plan on spending the day covered in coffee?” Waverly asked, a few minutes later when she went back into the break room.

“Couldn’t find a scarlet ‘A’.”

“For adulterer?”

“For asshole.”

Waverly nodded, agreeing.  “The coffee stain will probably suffice.”

“Is Wynonna okay?”

“You’re not the only person who’ll be an asshole to her over this.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to tell me.”

“I’ll talk to her,” Nicole said.  “I will.”

“And try not to shame her when you do,” Waverly said, and Nicole looked down at the table.  “These things happen, people fuck up.  Your judgment isn’t helping.”

Nicole exhaled deeply.

“Why do you talk to her how you do?” Waverly asked.  “I didn’t notice before, but Mikshun showed me.”

“What?!”

“When it came back to me, from Wynonna, it told me things about her.  I’m sure it told her things about me,” Waverly said.  “You can be really mean to her.”

Nicole’s jaw clenched.  “I…know.”

“Why, though?” Waverly said.  “You’re not a mean person, Nicole, you’re not.  I’ve seen you two get along but you just really know how to get under each other’s skin.”

“I know.”

“Well, do something,” Waverly said.  Nicole was a little taken aback, and Waverly was too, if she was honest.  She hadn’t expected to sound that forceful.  “Nicole, this can’t keep going on.  I get not understanding what Wynonna’s doing or going through or whatever but…this can’t keep happening.”

“Waverly, she’s making you stay here,” Nicole said.  “You’re not the type to settle down, I know, but she’s got you staying.”

“What?” Waverly asked.  “What are you talking about?  She’s not making me stay.”

“Okay.”

“I want to be here,” Waverly said.  “And who said anything about settling down?  I am so not ready for that talk, Nicole.”

“I’m sorry I brought it up,” Nicole said.  “But, Wave, I know how you talk about her, what she’s done to you.”

“What?” Waverly was honestly surprised she went there.

“She shot your father and your sister,” Nicole said.  “She left you, without warning, constantly when you were growing up.  She caused nothing but trouble for you.  Waverly, she’s hurt you a lot-.”

“So?” Waverly cut in.  “You think I haven’t hurt her?  Or that she hasn’t been hurt or that she isn’t the way that she is because awful things keep happening to her and they don’t seem to fucking stop!”

Nicole didn’t know what to say.

“Yeah, we’ve hurt each other.  A lot,” Waverly admitted.  “We both have done really shitty things to each other.  I knew everything she went through and for years I still let myself hate her.  And now she knows, she knows how much I hated her and I need to fix it.  I need to fix it, Nicole.”

“Okay,” Nicole said.  “Okay, baby.  I’m sorry.”

“I know I don’t say enough good things about her,” Waverly said.  “This is on me, if I only ever told you the bad things, how are you going to know the good.”

“It’s not your fault-.”

“Yes, it is!” Waverly said.  “That’s possible, for things to be my fault.  I should have been more willing to see the good, I should have stopped being so angry, I should’ve been better.”

“Waverly, I know you can mess things up-.”

“You almost shot her,” Waverly said.  “Because you thought I wanted you to.”

“I didn’t shoot her.”  Nicole’s voice cracked.

“You said you’d shoot anyone for me,” Waverly said.  “Nicole, you’re a cop, you should damn well know better-.”

“Waverly-.”

“And you shouldn’t trust me that much!”

“I trust you too much?”

“I fuck up, Nicole, I fuck up a lot,” Waverly said.  “I shouldn’t have told you about Wynonna, that was a fuck up.”

Nicole inhaled deeply.

“We don’t see each other as people, not as we should,” Waverly forced herself to say, but she knew it was true.  “I’m...too dependent on you and you are too protective of me.  It can’t last.”

“We can’t last?”

“That is not what I said.”

“Waverly, it’s still early on, we’re still figuring this out,” Nicole said.  “It’s normal.”

“It’s not,” Waverly said, now her voice cracking.  “Look, I know there’s a million things going on.  And I want this to work, I do.  I really do.  I love you.  I-.”  She cut herself, realizing what she said.

“I love you, too,” Nicole said, meaning it.  She said it like she was admitting it, almost, like this wasn’t how she wanted to say it for the first time.

“But I need to make things better with Wynonna,” Waverly said.  “And I think I can work on things with her and on things with you at the same time, but, uh.  Let me know if you don’t, okay?”

“Waverly…”

“I need to go, alright?  I have some work to do before Wynonna’s appointment.”

**-WE-**

“How are you doing?” Waverly asked in the car, breaking the few minutes of silence they built up.

“Great.”

“Right, dumb question,” Waverly said.  “Of course you’re nervous.”

“I don’t even know the last time I saw a doctor.”

“Is there anything…unusual you think’ll show up?”

“Like what?” Wynonna said, sounding obviously nervous now.

“No, I mean, like,” Waverly.  “Anything particularly half-dragon we should notice.  Or half-immortal, I guess.”

Wynonna exhaled deeply.

“Yeah, I’ll maybe save the jokes for later.”

“No, I, uh,” Wynonna said.  “I don’t know.  I don’t know how far in I am, I don’t know who the father is, I don’t know how the hell this happened.”

“What, do you need a diagram?”

Wynonna gave her a look.

“Right, no jokes.”

“No bad jokes,” Wynonna amended.

“It’s a bit of a drive still,” Waverly said.  “Any music you want on or something?”

Wynonna shrugged.  “Whatever you have on is fine.”

Waverly nodded.

“Thanks for driving me,” Wynonna said. 

“Thanks for letting me come,” Waverly said.  She cleared her throat.  “I talked to Nicole.  I know she can be judgey.  Real judgey.  But, uh, she shouldn’t talk to you like that, I know that now.  I’m sorry.”

Wynonna inhaled deeply.

“I’m sorry, we don’t have to talk about her.”

“Are you going to treat me with kid gloves this whole time?”

“What?” Waverly asked.

“I fucked up, you know it, I know it.  Why avoid it?”

“Wynonna, this happens,” Waverly said.  “You can be careful and it still happens and we’ll deal.”

“No, but, I fuck things up, right?” Wynonna asked.  “Who’s to say I won’t fuck this up?”

“You won’t,” Waverly said.

Wynonna did not look convinced.

“Okay, fine, you will,” Waverly said.  “Everyone does, even the good ones at some point, I hear.”

Wynonna chuckled bitterly.

“I know we’re certainly not experts on good parents, but I do know that if you want it, you’ll be good at it.”

“I think I want it.”

“I know.”

Wynonna exhaled sharply, and at least part of the reason why was to stop the coming tears.

“Right, we’ve got no secrets from each other anymore,” Wynonna said.  “You knew I would’ve wanted something like this before I even knew it was happening.”

“It’s not a bad thing to want this,” Waverly said.  “And it’s not a bad thing to not want it, and it’s not a bad thing to not want to do this.  Whatever you want, I’m here.”

“You want to leave,” Wynonna said.  “You don’t want to stay.”

“That was before…”

“Don’t stay just for me,” Wynonna said.  “Do not do that, Waverly, seriously.”

“I’m not,” Waverly said.  “I’ll be here because I want to be.”

“And this is why you want to be here?”

“No,” Waverly said.  “I mean, sure, it’s part of it.  I told you, you’re not alone.”

“What’s the rest?”

Waverly looked over at her, but Wynonna was looking out the windshield.

Waverly sighed.  “Mikshun told me a lot about you,” she said.  “So I’m guessing it told you a lot about me.”

Wynonna nodded, biting her lip hard.  She made a sound vaguely like a “yes” but she didn’t open her mouth.

“I don’t feel that way anymore,” Waverly said.  “Yeah, I resented you a lot and maybe I…maybe I hated you.”

Wynonna felt a tear run down her cheek.

“And you resented me, too,” Waverly said.  “I know that.  We know these things about each other and for our whole lives we’ve been avoiding them.  And, fuck, Wynonna.  I’m tired.”

“Me too.”

“I’m sorry it took so long to forgive you,” Waverly said.  She was driving but she did look over at Wynonna.  “I’m sorry.  I love you.  I don’t want us to be like this anymore.”

“I’m sorry, too,” Wynonna said.  “I don’t want us to be like this, either.”

“So, cards on the table,” Waverly said.  “We know how we’ve hurt each other.  We know how to fix it.”

“Mikshun told you how to fix it?” Wynonna tried.  “Man, all I got was your high school diary.”

“Oh my god,” Waverly said, blushing.  “I’m sorry.”

“Be sorry about your poetry phase,” Wynonna said.  “I mean, you’re very talented in a lot of ways.  Just not that one.”

“Anyway,” Waverly went on.  “No, I don’t know exactly how to fix it.  But, I want to.”

“I want to, too,” Wynonna said.  “But when you want to leave, leave.  Don’t stay for me, for this.”

“You know this is going to affect everyone, right?” Waverly said.  “Everyone in your life.  And it’s fine, we love you, but it changes things for more than just you.”

“Yeah, and already, the people who know are all really excited about it.”

Waverly exhaled deeply.  “You know why I told her?”

Wynonna shook her head.

“She thought it was me,” Waverly said.  “She noticed I’ve been weird lately and her friend saw me buy the test-“

“Wait, what?” Wynonna asked.  “How?”

“You really do need a diagram.”

“With _Champ_?  Shit, Waves.  Gross.”

“Yes, thank you,” Waverly said.  “Anyway.  She caught me doing research, too.”

“About Champ?”

“No, focus, Wynonna,” Waverly said.  “About this.”

“You did research on my pregnancy?”

“On all of it,” Waverly said.  “On options, on how to help, on what you might need.”

“You’re a nerd,” Wynonna said.  “A nerd with boundary issues.”

“I want to be here,” Waverly said.  “Whatever you want to do.  I want us to be better and if this is the first time to show that, so be it.”

“What changed?” Wynonna asked.  “Mikshun wasn’t huge on showing me your positive thoughts toward me.”

“I don’t know,” Waverly said.  “Everything that happened with Willa, I guess.”

They both knew that when they talked about Willa, they both had very different memories.  Wynonna worried that Waverly meant Wynonna killing Willa, but she pushed that thought down.

“You’ve been through so much shit, Wynonna,” Waverly said.  “And all you want is to save us.”

“I want all this shit to stop,” Wynonna said.  “That’s different.”

“Bullshit,” Waverly said.  “You go out of your way to save people, you do.  You could’ve stayed away.”

“Dolls said he’d recruit you into Black Badge if I left.”

“Yeah, good thing that never happened.”

Wynonna couldn’t stifle a small laugh.  “Yeah.”

**-WE-**

“Decaf,” Nicole said, handing a mug to Wynonna as she walked out of Black Badge later that day.

Wynonna looked around.  “Have you just been standing here?”

“I’m sorry,” Nicole said.  “About before.  I was way out of line.”

“No kidding.”

“When Waverly told me, she said that she told you wouldn’t be alone,” Nicole said.  “And, I get it.  I agree.  I’m there.”

“Nicole,” Wynonna said, walking to the evidence room and Nicole following her.  “Have you considered that the issue is that you won’t leave me alone?”

Nicole slowed a bit, but kept walking with Wynonna.

“I’m here however you want me,” Nicole said.  She spoke quickly before Wynonna could insert some sort of innuendo.  “I’m sorry about what I said and what I have said.  Everything you said, you were right.  I haven’t been fair to you.  Or to Waverly.”

“Look, we both love Waverly,” Wynonna said.  “We both want to protect her.  I guess we’re stuck with each other, so.”  She sighed.  “I’d rather be your friend than not.  I think we can be friends.”

“I think so, too.”

“I mean, you have complimented my ass,” Wynonna said.  “I think we’re there.”

Nicole laughed.  “So, how’d it go today?  How are you?”

Wynonna gave her a look.

“Okay, we’re not _there_.  Got it.”

Wynonna smiled and nodded.

“I should get back to work,” Nicole said.  “There’s milk in the fridge.”

Nicole turned to leave and Wynonna watcher her for a bit.

She sighed.

“It went well,” she called.  “Everything’s fine.  Thanks for asking.”

Nicole smiled.  “Glad to hear it.”

**-WE-**

Waverly came downstairs and saw Wynonna in the kitchen.

“Oh,” Waverly said.  “I was just about to start cooking.”

Wynonna shrugged.  “I beat you to it.”

“I see that,” Waverly said.  “Thanks.”

“Did Mikshun tell you what I told Nicole?” Wynonna asked.  “Or, what it told Nicole?”

“I remember what you said in the barn, that’s it,” Waverly said.  “But, Nicole had to help me with that one.”

“I told her that you weren’t one to settle down,” Wynonna said.  “That you weren’t the picket fence type.”

Waverly exhaled, long and deep.  “That explains a lot.”

“Sorry if it kind of threw a wrench in your plans.”

“I didn’t have any plans to settle down,” Waverly said.  “I mean, yeah, I love Nicole, but I am in no rush to settle down.”

“Really?”

Waverly looked surprised by the question, but nodded.  “Yeah.  Why?”

Wynonna shrugged.  “I don’t know.  I guess I kind of always thought you’d be the one to get your shit together.”

“My shit is nowhere near together,” Waverly laughed.

“Yeah, join the club.”

“When are you going to tell him?”

Wynonna sighed.  “Soon.  Really soon.”

“This kid’s the heir, you know that, right?” Waverly tried to say it delicately, because she knew the pressure that came with being the heir.  She thought she was next in line for a while and she spent her whole life around the heir, whoever it was at a given time.  She knew what it was like to care for the heir, though she knew there was a difference between your older sister or your father being the heir, and your child being the heir.

But, she needed to be sure she and Wynonna were on the same page.

Wynonna just nodded.  Her jaw was clenched.  She didn’t want to think about it, but she saw Waverly’s point; it was important.

“The only heir,” Waverly added.

Wynonna nodded again.  “Got it,” she said through somewhat gritted teeth.  “Look, I know what Bobo told you-.”

“It’s true,” Waverly said.  “It would explain so much.  You and Willa look way more like each other than I do like anyone but Mama.  It explains why Ward hated me.”

“So, what do we do?” Wynonna asked.

“I don’t know,” Waverly said.  “I used to think that we keep it quiet so that everyone thought it was still the two of us, so they’d have to go after two of us instead of just one to get rid of all the Earps.”

Wynonna hated this conversation for a lot of reasons.  She hated that she was in a position that she had to actively plan around the actual likelihood that she, her child, and/or her younger sister were hunted.  To death.  By demons.

“You don’t think that anymore?” Wynonna asked.

Waverly shrugged.  “I’m bumped.  Even if I were an heir, I’d be number three, now, and soon enough people’ll know.”

“What’s your point, Waverly?”

“You know about the Pact?”

Wynonna nodded.  Mikshun had told her, had used it to torture her, had it lingering in the back of her mind when Wynonna had control.

The Pact was an agreement between Dolls’ operatives and allies, pretty much anyone who was privy to the truth of what was happening in Purgatory and had worked with the Earps.  They all agreed that the number one priority was saving Wynonna, and number two was Waverly, as long as she was under twenty-seven years old.  The Pact included Dolls, Waverly, Doc, and Nicole.  Waverly had told her a little while after she found out what was going on in town.  Waverly knew Dolls had planned on filling in Jeremy and Lucado, but she wasn’t sure if he had the chance to.  They didn’t tell Wynonna about it, they never were going to. 

Frankly, they were all a little surprised that it hadn’t come up by then.  The Pact basically stated that if it came down to a choice between anyone’s life and Wynonna’s, Wynonna got saved.  If it came down to anyone and Waverly’s, she and Wynonna got saved.  If it came down to Wynonna and Waverly, they saved Wynonna.

They’d all agreed, even Waverly.  It made her uncomfortable, sure, to think of her own death in such practical terms, but she understood.  She agreed.

“I think it needs to be amended,” Waverly said.

“How?”

“Not right away,” Waverly said.  “When you’re ready for people to know, but, definitely at some point.”

“It would’ve been amended anyway,” Wynonna said.

Waverly clenched her jaw, then opened her mouth to speak, then clenched her jaw again.

“The Earp heir needs to be twenty-seven to have any effect,” Waverly said.  “And I’m closer to twenty-seven than the baby is, obviously, so…”

“You’d be put ahead,” Wynonna finished, though she did not want to.  She'd just really warmed up to the idea of keeping it, she didn't want to think about this.  “They’d save you over them.”

“It won’t come to that,” Waverly said.  This conversation was tough and it was awful, but she figured Mikshun told Wynonna about the Pact.  It was only a matter of time until the Pact members had to talk about the order of priority, and only a matter of time until Wynonna put together what they would've seen as the most logical order.  Waverly wanted to keep Wynonna from that experience because frankly it sounded awful, and somehow worse than their current conversation.

“But it would have!”

“It won’t!” Waverly said, almost pleading.  “I’m not an Earp.  Saving me doesn’t save anyone else.  When you’re ready, we’ll talk to Dolls, we’ll update everyone.  Your kid will be priority two, I promise.”

Wynonna sat back in her chair.  She was really not enjoying this fucking conversation.

“I’ll have zero priority,” Waverly said.  “Just like everyone else.”

Waverly wasn’t loving the conversation, either.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm busy all day so I can't reply to comments yet but I read all the comments so far on the first part of this and I totally hear them! And I thank you a lot for caring enough to leave a comment, it really means a lot. I really do enjoy being in this fandom and being able to talk about this show we all love with everyone.   
> So, I do stand by the first part of this. I do think that Wynonna and Nicolecould stand to be nicer to each other, I think that Nicole definitely dislikes Wynonna on some level, largely because of what she's heard about Wynonna both from Waverly and like everyone else in town and she maybe sees that situation in black and white. I do think the conversations that happened in the first part of this are important.   
> However, I didn't realize how much it seemed like I was only blaming Nicole, which is not what I want to do. She and Wynonna are mean to each other and I don't think they have to be. So, I wanted to write something that could lead toward that. And I think most of the issues between Nicole and Wyn is centered around how they view each other in terms of how they treat Waverly, and they both distrust the other. So, I wanted to explore that and I'm sorry that it seemed too one-sided.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, my favorite part of the show is the sister dynamic between Wynonna and Waverly, so I am literally never going to write them as a ship. As for ships, I love Waverly and Nicole together (and as individuals) and so want them to be happy, which is why I tend to write stuff in which they work out their issues that haven't been worked out on the show.   
> Anyway, here's a little piece that I think addresses some issues with the first part of this.

"Hey," Wynonna said, coming up to the front desk of the police station, where Nicole was sitting. "Have any cases for me?"

"Nope," Nicole said. "You closed the other one already?"

Wynonna nodded. "It was pretty open-and-shut."

Nicole cocked an eyebrow at her. 

"Wave got me to watch some  _Brooklyn Nine-Nine_ last night. I've been brushing up on cop terms."

"That's a good show."

"It is."

There was a bit of a pause, and Nicole wasn't sure why Wynonna was still at her desk. 

"Does Dolls not have any other cases?" she asked. 

"Nope," Wynonna said. "He's so concerned about finding out what happened to the rest of Black Badge, all our cases these past few days have been whatever you pass us."

"What do you mean, what happened to them?"

"Waverly didn't tell you?" Wynonna said. Nicole shook her head. "They're gone. Jeremy went to go drop off something we had and the whole place was deserted."

"Oh, shit."

Wynonna nodded. "Yeah."

Nicole still looked a bit shocked, but she noticed Wynonna looking at her in the short silence that followed. 

"What?"

"We have no oversight."

"Should you be telling me this?"

"Who's going to stop me?" Wynonna said, speaking with mounting enthusiasm like she was getting an idea. "There's no Black Badge, there's no Lucado. We can do whatever we want."

"Great."

"No, Nicole," Wynonna said. "We can work with whoever we want. You can come back in."

Nicole looked at her without speaking for a few moments. 

"You want me back in on a Black Badge?"

"You know your shit, you know how to operate, you want to help," Wynonna said. "And we need all the help we can get."

Nicole looked conflicted. "I'm not so sure it's a good idea," she said. "Me working with you."

"I'm sorry," Wynonna said. "I know I didn't say it when you did your little apology tour the other day, but I should have. Waverly's right, we really know how to bug the shit out of each other and..."

She cut herself off. She wanted to find the right words; she knew that she and Nicole did more than just annoy each other. 

"As you may have heard, I have a few issues."

Nicole laughed, but was listening.

"I'm not the most trusting person," Wynonna continued. "And the kinds of people I distrust most tend to be people involved with Waverly and cops."

"Double whammy. Great."

"You've proven we can trust you," Wynonna said. "You want to help. You're one of the good ones."

"Cops?"

"All of it," Wynonna said. Nicole grinned. "Anyway, I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted," Nicole said. "Thank you."

Wynonna looked relieved. 

"That's not what I meant, though," Nicole went on. "I mean, Black Badge and the sheriff's department are separate and maybe they should really stay that way."

"You don't want back in on BBD?"

"I don't know," Nicole admitted. And she really wasn't sure. When she'd been kicked off Black Badge, she really wanted to get back in. But then Nedley talked to her about being the next sheriff, and she really wanted that. She really wasn't sure if she could or should do both. She knew she and Nedley were investigating privately a lot of the weird shit that happened in Purgatory, but she wasn't sure that getting deeply involved in Black Badge would help, especially not if it took away hours from her police work. 

"Okay," Wynonna said, a little surprised but accepting it. "Well, think about it.  We don't need an answer today, and if you change your mind, we're here."

Nicole nodded. "I will. Thanks."

Wynonna smiled a bit and headed back to Black Badge. 

**\--**

Later that night, Waverly was at Nicole's and they were talking. 

"How much time do you spend on Black Badge?" Nicole asked. "Like, per week."

waverly shrugged. "I don't know. Definitely more than normal full time hours," she laughed. "Why?"

"Wynonna said if I wanted to get back in, I could, now that the higher ups are gone."

"Did she now?"

"I don't think I'm going to."

They were sitting on Nicole's couch, watching a movie and drinking wine and Waverly had her head on Nicole's shoulder. She sat up at that, though. 

"What? Why not?"

Nicole shrugged. "That's a lot of time to commit."

"I mean, I'm sure you could do part time," Waverly said. "Split your time between us and the sheriff's department."

"I know," Nicole said. "But I like my job now. I help y'all out when I can, I pass cases your way, it's not like I'm entirely out of the loop again."

Waverly frowned a bit. 

"At the sheriff's department, I just work for Nedley. And eventually I'll just work for me. At BBD, I'll be working for Dolls and Wynonna and you and Jeremy."

"Is this, like, an ego thing?"

"No, not at all," Nicole said. "You know what Nedley said, he picked me to be the next sheriff. Joining BBD would feel like a step backward, somehow."

"Right," Waverly said. She sat up more, thinking about it. "Okay. That makes sense."

"And the police can be more of a resource to you guys," Nicole said. "And you can be more of a resource to us."

Waverly didn't know about Nicole and Nedley's investigation, and Nicole wasn't trying to tell anybody. But, she did want them to have better relations. 

"Okay," Waverly said. She grinned and kissed Nicole's cheek. "You know, you're really hot when you're trying to save the world."

Nicole looked like she was going to object, but Waverly cut her off. 

"All we've done for the past few days that I've been back is talk," Waverly said. "I think we probably have some catching up to do in other areas."

Nicole laughed. "You know what, I think you're right."  She kissed her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @Canadians, do you all have the tv show Whammy and/or are you familiar with the phrase anyway? Does the phrase even come from the game show??  
> Also, pour one out for all my fics in which Nicole is in Black Badge.   
> Also also, I hope this helps round out the story I was trying to tell with the first part of this. I see now that I should've included Wynonna's apology because she has things to apologize for, too. I know that Nicole isn't a mean person, but she was stressed and pissed in the scene with Wynonna and the coffee in the first chapter. Which isn't an excuse for her, but more so an explanation of why she seemed so not herself. Although of course if that didn't translate, that's totally on me.   
> Anyway, what do y'all think? I really value your feedback! Part of why I love fan fiction so much is because we can all interpret characters differently and see things differently from the same source material and I really enjoy seeing how other people interpret and relate to the same thing. So, let me know what you think! :)

**Author's Note:**

> So, it's been a day and I still can't entirely wrap my head (pour one out for Lucado) around 2x05. Pretty much since Nicole was introduced on the show, I wanted her and Wynonna to be friends and then I only just realized in this past ep that they weren't friends because Nicole pretty routinely says some really mean shit to Wynonna. I know in this ep Wynonna kind of throws it back, but I think now that I better understand their dynamic I can write it more/hopefully better.  
> Literally the only thing I wanted from season 2 is for Waves and Wynonna to fix their relationship and I figure that Mikshun probably told Wynonna that stuff about Waverly not wanting to settle down, like the stuff Wyn said to Nicole in the police station. So, I figure Mikshun also said the messed up stuff between the Earp sisters to them to mess with them. They 100% resent(ed) each other and I don't know that Wyn would hate Waverly, but I definitely think Waverly would hate Wyn at least at some point and I think/hope that going forward, knowing that the demon told them each other's secrets, that they can work on their damaged-ass relationship.  
> Which brings us to Wynonna being pregnant. I think Waves 100% meant it when she said Wyn wasn't alone and I think she'd stick around, and I think the Earp sisters have made really good progress with like being better with each other this season, even though they were both possessed for a good chunk of it.  
> Also this idea of the Pact has come up in a few of my fics now and I'm really into it, and the Wynonna-has-a-kid is a spin I literally never thought of so I wanted to explore that a bit, because it would affect the order of things, especially since Waverly isn't an Earp.  
> Anyway, there's a lot going on here, so, let me know what you think, please! What'd you think of this fic? What'd you think of the ep?  
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
